Wind power is a free and inexhaustible (“renewable”) source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which exist in a finite supply and which must be extracted from the earth at great environmental cost, wind turbines harness a boundless supply of kinetic energy in the form of wind. The wind turbines are located above-ground, typically in wind farms (or wind parks) which are a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles.
One area in which wind power has not been harnessed is in subterranean locations, such as underground tunnels in which railcars, such as trains, pass through. Currently, existing equipment that is used to harness above ground wind power is not capable of harnessing subterranean wind power due to many factors, such as size constraints in subterranean locations.
Consequently, what is needed is equipment that can be used in subterranean locations, like underground tunnels, that can function in enclosed spaces and be subjected to substantial impact from secondary turbulence and other site variables which are not typically encountered in existing wind parks.